We’re looking forward to introducing you to Amanda Rubin. Check out our conversation below.
Good morning Amanda, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What is a normal day like for you right now?
My days vary because being an entrepreneur means you don’t have a normal schedule. But, let me take you through an average Wednesday–or as I like to call it, “My Tuesday.”
A day in my life starts at 7:15am when my puppy Cava jumps on my bed to wake me up before my 7:30am alarm. I kiss my husband good morning and check my email before I even get out of bed. After a brief check, I’ll let Cava outside to use the bathroom and I’ll make my cup of coffee with collagen blend.
After enjoying my coffee, making my bed, doing my skin care routine, and brushing my teeth, I’ll take Cava on a short walk then feed her breakfast while prepping for the day; sometimes I’ll also take calls on her walk if necessary. If I’m going to the gym, I’ll prep my gym bag, and then I’ll pack a bite to eat.
At this point I’ll check my emails one last time and respond quickly to a few before heading out for the day. Then, I’ll head to the gym, get a quick work out in, and get showered and dressed at the gym for a day at the tasting room.
At around 11:30am I get to the Tasting Room and start my work for the day. I try to get as much done before my first associate arrives at 2pm so that I can be prepped and ready. Sometimes we’ll get deliveries, sometimes I’ll take meetings–but it’s a great time for me to get admin work done.
At 2pm I’ll give some direction to my first associate, usually to put away any deliveries, prepare for upcoming events, and stock the bar. I’ll be there to answer questions and continue on with admin work, meetings etc.
By 5pm I’m usually wrapping up my admin work to go work around the tasting room. Our second set of associates get in at 5:30pm so this is when I man the bar and relieve my associate so they can take a break.
From 5-8pm it’s usually a mix between mingling with customers, managing, and admin work.
At about 8pm I take off for the evening–the Tasting Room closes at 9pm. I get home around 8:30pm, spend time with my husband and dog, unless I have a prior event and relax a little. Sometimes we’ll unwind with some TV, sometimes we meet up with friends, sometimes I’ll get a few last minute things done. I’m in bed usually by 11:30pm.
That’s a regular day in the life–but some days start at 6am and some days start at 1pm. It really all depends! But one thing I can tell you is that the day is ALWAYS full.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Amanda Rubin. I’m the Wine Proprietor of AJA Vineyards a boutique family owned winery based in the Malibu Coast. We produce several different types of wine with the main focus on making California Coast terroir driven, approachable and food friendly wines. We started making wine as a hobby and when my Dad and I decided to turned this family hobby into a family business. I fell in love with wine at the ripe young age of 14 when my family purchased a property with a half acre hillside of vines planted to it. When my dad told me he wanted to make wine, I was so intrigued–I didn’t know they made wine outside of Napa Valley. At the young age of 14 year old I had no idea what was in store for me. At 16 I knew I wanted to be a sommelier. At 20, I sold my first wholesale client wine. At 21 I became a certified mixologist and at 22 I became a Certified Sommelier. Then, in 2019, after college and after Culinary school, I decided it was time to turn AJA Vineyards into a business.
It was an exciting start, but when COVID hit, we really had to learn to pivot. We changed our sales program, focused on DTC. I was driving to individual customers’ homes with cases of wine. We were looking for a tasting room but it would take a little bit of time before it finally fell into place.
In 2023 we signed our lease and in October of 2024 we opened our very first winery tasting room in Santa Monica and made history by being Santa Monica’s first ever winery tasting room.
Now, we focus on making high quality wines and offering a space that isn’t judgmental. Our staff are all certified in wine–pretty neat! They’re all passionate about what we do and they’re all super knowledgeable.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
Easy. My husband. He’s the most incredible person I’ve ever met. He knows how to cheer me up, make me feel safe, and cheer me on. He’s my rock and he continually pushes me to be the best version of myself.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
I hate failing. It sucks. It hurts so much when you put in so much effort and don’t get the results that you want,. But I know I learn more from my failures than from my successes. You don’t realize how badly you can mess up until you do. You can prepare for EVERYTHING and still something can go wrong and situations that you could have never planned out, occur.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
Now this is an interesting question. I really do believe that I’m an open book. But I also find that people are shocked to know I have such an imposter syndrome. I’m always blown away by how confident people think I am–and don’t get me wrong, I’m a pretty strong and confident person. But I do often feel that I’m an imposter–I can’t believe I’m a Proprietor of a winery. So I think a big portion of my public self is the real me, but I think the thing people don’t know is that I often am surprised by what I can accomplish when so many people just expect that from me.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. When do you feel most at peace?
In my bed, with my dog and my husband watching some silly movie and pretending nothing else matters but what’s in front of me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ajavineyards.com
- Instagram: @ajavineyards
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-rubin-greenbaum-72270b10a/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ajavineyards
- Yelp: https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=aja+vineyards+yelp&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
